


Spring Blooms

by caitwritesstuff



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slice of Life, garden date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 12:23:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14080887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caitwritesstuff/pseuds/caitwritesstuff
Summary: Yuuri has a huge crush on Victor Nikiforov, the handsome foreign exchange student that sits two rows in front of him in his history class. Little does he know, Victor also has a huge crush on him.





	Spring Blooms

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for the Live Love YOI Bing - a small writing challenge leading up to the start of the bang. 
> 
> Artwork is done by the lovely Jadeydoodles! Be sure to follow her over on Tumblr! 
> 
> Thank you to Muttthecowcat for being such a wonderful beta!

“ _Yuuri._ ” Phichit whispered, poking Yuuri in the ribs, pulling the boy’s attention away from the crop of platinum blond hair of the boy sitting two rows in front of him. He had been so absorbed in daydreaming about the untouchable Russian beauty that the entire world had melted away and Yuuri forgot he was in the middle of his third year history class.

“Huh?” Yuuri said, perhaps a little too loudly for such a quiet classroom. A few of his classmates in the surrounding radius of his desk shot Yuuri dirty looks. Victor, the object of Yuuri’s distraction, briefly glanced back at the boy before dismissively turning back to the lesson Yuuri had long since stopped paying attention to.

Victor Nikiforov. Foreign exchange student, the most popular boy in his class, and owner of the most breathtakingly devastating smile that Yuuri has ever seen. If Yuuri hadn’t known he preferred boys before the silver haired Russian Adonis waltzed into his vision, then Yuuri certainly knew now. Can anyone really blame Yuuri for being distracted when the most beautiful boy in the world sat two rows in front of him?

“Dude, you’re being super spacy today. What’s up?” Phichit whispered between their desks.

“Nothing. I’m fine.” Yuuri insisted going back to scribbling notes into his notebook, even if they were merely absent-minded doodles. A poodle, long silver lashes framing deep blue eyes, a heart shaped smile. Phichit pursed his lips and looked forward a few rows, easily picking up on the source of Yuuri’s distraction.

“You should just ask him out already.” Phichit whispered.

“I’d never stand a chance.” Yuuri shook his head.

“I’m just saying -” Phichit started to argue before their teacher cleared his throat in a bone chilling way that let the students know that they had been caught.  

“Is there a question back there?” The teacher asked pointedly looking and Phichit and Yuuri. The offending students leaned back in their seats, pretending that they weren’t talking during the middle of class.

“No sir, sorry sir.” Yuuri ducked his head in embarrassment. A few of their classmates laughed behind their hands and Yuuri turned bright red in mortification. Their teacher huffed and turned back to the lesson at hand.

The school day went on and by lunch, Phichit and Yuuri secluded themselves in an empty classroom to eat their lunches away from the buzz and excitement of the cafeteria. It was better this way. It gave them some semblance of privacy to speak about things that neither of them want overheard.

“So . . . Victor.” Phichit started as soon as they sat down and started eating.

“I’m not talking about it.” Yuuri insisted, pushing around a stray grain of rice with his chopsticks.

“Dude I swear on my hamster’s lives that I’m getting gay vibes from that guy. I saw him sneak a glance at your ass in gym one time. No lie.” Phichit declared. Yuuri blushed at the the thought that Victor might have an inkling of an interest for him but ultimately brushed it off as nonsense.

“He’s not gay.” Yuuri repeated. “Chihoko was bragging in math that they made out during some party just the other day."

“Chihoko is full of shit and you know it! Do you really think _she_ of all people is a trustworthy source? She makes up rumors just to alleviate boredom.” Phichit argued. Yuuri couldn’t help but to nod in agreement because he _was_ right about Chihoko being a pathological liar but he also knew Phichit had to be wrong about Victor. There was just no way.

Even if Victor was hypothetically, gay, there was no way he would be interested in _him_ of all people.

“I still think you’re wrong.” Yuuri concluded, nibbling on an apple slice from his bento. Phichit threw his head back and groaned in exhaustion.

“I honestly don’t understand you sometimes.” Phichit said shaking his head. Yuuri shrugged his shoulders and silently continued.

“Can we talk about something other than Victor?” Yuuri asked. Phichit opened his mouth to respond but before he could the door burst open and in walked the silver haired beauty himself. His hair was slightly disheveled but still alluring, perfectly mused as if he were a model from a high fashion magazine. Victor’s uniform necktie was askew and his shirt slightly rumpled. He looked like sex on legs, a thought that shot straight to Yuuri’s lower half.

_‘Oh god. Don’t think about it Yuuri. Don’t think about it. Shit, he’s coming this way.’_

Yuuri had never been more grateful that they decided to sit in the desks today.

“Sorry, I didn’t think anyone would be in here.” Victor apologized in that utterly adorable accented voice that was doing nothing to help Yuuri in this moment.

“Oh hey Victor!” Phichit waved at the disheveled looking Russian “You’re welcome to join us if you’d like.” Phichit continued. Yuuri shot his friend a warning look but remained silent.

“Only if you promise not to tell Chihoko and her minions where I am. I swear those girls have a tracking device on me. I can’t escape them.” Victor complained, pulling up a seat next to Yuuri and casually collapsing his head onto the desk as if complaining to them was the most normal thing in the world. Victor probably didn’t even know their names.

“If they have a tracking device then it’s already too late, man.” Phichit sympathized. Victor let out a small whine and lifted his head so his chin was now resting on his arms that were folded on the desk.

“Yuuri, how do you reject girls?” Victor asked. Yuuri nearly choked on the water bottle he was sipping on. _Out of all the -_ Yuuri never expected Victor to know his name, never mind ask for his advice on _girls_. Phichit snickered to himself, covering it up with a well timed cough.

Best friend of the year, everyone.  

“I - uh . . . don’t?” Yuuri struggled to answer while wiping away the mixture of spittle and water that had dribbled down his chin with the sleeve of his jacket.

Yuuri had never been in such peak sexiness as that moment.

“You don’t reject girls?” Victor asked, genuinely surprised.

“I don’t reject anyone. I don’t exactly have hordes of people knocking at my door anyways.” Yuuri mumbled with a frown, looking _anywhere_ but towards Victor.

“Really.” Victor said more as a statement than a question.

The girls, everyone really, usually made a point to avoid Yuuri. During his first year of high school, Chihoko, true to her reputation, spread a rumor - that turned out to be all too true - that Yuuri was less than straight. She of course didn’t know it was true, but that didn’t stop the repercussions from hitting Yuuri like a ton of bricks. He was social outcast, a black mark for anyone’s social life should they stay around him too long. It used to bother him but less so lately. Out of all his old friends, Phichit was the only one who stayed with him through everything and Phichit was all he needed.

Which sort of begged the question why Victor was even still here talking to them. Surely someone, namely Chihoko and her crew of plastic cronies, had filled him in on Yuuri’s social curse.

Yuuri spared a glance towards Victor to see his lips were set in a thin line and he looked like he was deep in thought. Yuuri had no idea what he said that was so perplexing but he found himself wanting to pick Victor’s brain, if only for a second.

Maybe this was all just a joke. Maybe Victor was only here to taunt him and Chihoko would burst in cackling, overjoyed that Yuuri had so easily taken her bait. Victor would laugh along with her, taunt him by making out with Chihoko in front of him, and walk away hand in hand mocking Yuuri the entire way.

It seemed irrational, if a little probable.

“There you are!” Chris said, coming into the classroom and pulling up a chair without anyone inviting him to. Yuuri looked at him as if he had three heads.

_How many more popular people are going to lose their minds today?_

“ _Soooo_ what are us hens clucking about today?” Chris said as if they all had been good buddies since the womb. By this point Yuuri was sure that he had entered the Twilight Zone and it was all a matter of time before he woke up from this strange dream.

“Can you believe Yuuri hasn’t ever had to reject someone, Chris?” Victor asked as if it were the most impossible thing in the world. What’s worse was Phichit, Yuuri’s treacherous friend joined in on their seemingly genuine disbelief.

When lunch ended, Yuuri thought that would be the end of this madness and Victor would go back to the status quo of pretending Yuuri didn’t exist, but much to Yuuri’s surprise Victor walked him to his next class with his arm casually draped over Yuuri’s shoulder. He blabbered naturally the entire time but Yuuri was very self-aware of the stares his classmates were giving them as they passed in the hallway.

“Yuuri?” Victor asked, stopping just short of Yuuri’s destination.

“Yeah?” Yuuri asked quietly, acutely aware of Chihoko’s glare boring into the back of his head from down the hall.

“Can I eat lunch with you again tomorrow?” he asked, his voice taking on a shy quality that Yuuri had never heard before. Perhaps no one had ever seen Victor like this. He always seemed confident and self-assured.

“Why?” Yuuri found himself asking. He didn’t mean to sound as rude as he was, but he was just surprised is all.

“Well . . . I think you’re nice and I’ve been trying this thing lately where I don’t surround myself with toxic people.” Victor explained.

“But . . . I’m not popular like you.” Yuuri argued. Victor’s lips quirked up into a private smirk and he shrugged.

“I don’t mind.” Victor said, flipping his silver hair out of his eyes. Yuuri caught a waft of Victor’s rose and lavender scented shampoo and he suddenly felt less sure that his knees would keep him upright where he belonged.

“But your reputation . . .” Yuuri insisted. Victor frowned and Yuuri immediately regretted his words.

“I don’t care about whatever reputation you think I have.” Victor shook his head. “Yuuri, if you don’t want me to sit with you during lunch, you know you only have to say so. You know that right, Yuuri?” Victor reassured with an inexplicably gentle expression.

“Do whatever you want.” Yuuri mumbled, keeping his eyes trained on his shoes. “Have a nice day Victor.” Yuuri said before scurrying away and taking refuge in his next classroom.

What Yuuri didn’t see is Victor’s shoulders sinking in defeat as he turned and trudged to his own next class with his hands shoved in his pockets.

The next day Victor and Chris joined them again for lunch and again the day after that . . . and the day after that . . . and the day after that. After a while it began to feel like more of a regular thing, even for Yuuri.

Victor was nothing like Yuuri had expected he would be like. He wasn’t this untouchable prince surrounded by an air of sophistication and charm. Victor, as it turned out, was a giant lovable dork who was also a bit of an airhead.

This was very bad for Yuuri. The lovable dork was in fact even more lovable than the prince he had built Victor up to be in his mind.

Another thing that Yuuri quickly learned was that Victor was a notorious food thief.

One of the first things that Yuuri noticed about Victor was that he almost never brought lunch and that he compensated for this by nabbing morsels from others in their group. In the beginning Victor kept to sneaking bites from Chris’ lunch, but as time went on and their friendship started to sprout, Victor became more bold and started turning his petty thievery to Yuuri’s bento box.

“Victor . . . Why don’t you ever bring lunch?” Yuuri asked after Victor snatched one of Yuuri’s octopus shaped vienna sausages. He didn’t mind Victor’s stealing, because he genuinely enjoyed seeing Victor’s reactions to his food, but Yuuri was a little curious.

“Oh, I just always sleep through my alarm and never have time to pack anything.” Victor explained with a light airy smile.

“Oh. Ok.” Yuuri dismissed. “Would you like some tonkatsu, Victor?” Yuuri offers, holding out a strip of fried pork with his chopsticks. Victor gladly wraps his lips around Yuuri’s chopsticks, which was the furthest thing from what he intended, but exactly what his fantasies needed.

Yuuri gulped and blinked, trying to calm his spiraling thoughts.

“ _Vkusno_!” Victor cheered with that wide heart shaped smile of his. “Oh Yuuri, your lunches are always so adorable and delicious!” Victor complimented, licking his lips to swipe away the trace morsels of tonkatsu. Once again Yuuri’s mind went to an impure place as he imagined what else that tongue could lick.

Yuuri shoved those thoughts away and catalogued Victor’s love for tonkatsu away in the growing list of foods that the Russian enjoyed Yuuri bringing.

The next day Yuuri packed two lunches: one for him, one for Victor. He filled Victor’s bento box with things that he’s stolen from Yuuri and really enjoyed.

Yuuri presented the neatly wrapped bento box to Victor just before the beginning of lunch. Victor looked down at the box in his hands, perplexed.

“What’s this?” Victor asked.

“I made you lunch so that you wouldn’t have to share with the rest of us.” Yuuri explained before realizing the way he said it perhaps wouldn’t come off as very kind. “Wait! That came out wrong. I-I mean I thought you would like to have your own lunch so I made one for you.”

“Yuuri!” Victor cooed, throwing his arms around Yuuri’s shoulders in an excited embrace. “That’s so sweet of you!”

“I hope you’ll like it.” Yuuri chuckled nervously, blush creeping to his cheeks at the close contact with Victor.

“Yuuri, will you join me out in the garden for lunch today?” Victor proposed, his eyes shimmering with wide eyed hope. How could Yuuri ever deny such a request?

“Of course.” Yuuri answered with a gentle smile. Victor grinned, took Yuuri by the hand and excitedly dragged him through the halls and out into the courtyard that the gardening club used after school to cultivate the fruits of their labor. During lunch, the garden was the perfect place for young starcrossed couples to enjoy a quiet moment away from reality.

Springtime was just starting to bloom but the air still had a cool crisp quality that kept most students inside. Yuuri was feeling overheated enough from blushing that it evened out.

The beginnings of a lush garden were just starting to push up through the soil. Bright red primroses bloomed in a flower bed pushed up against the school, and across the garden from where they rested against the old sakura tree shone soft yellow daffodils. Gentle pink sakura blooms floated down from the tree’s canopy like fragrant snow flakes.

A few of the petals drifted down and found themselves nestled in Victor’s hair. He looked ethereal, like a youthful vibrant god of spring.

Yuuri wanted to save this moment in his memory forever.

Without thinking about it, Yuuri reached out and brushed his fingers through Victor’s hair to shake loose the petals from Victor’s hair. Victor gasped softly and blushed at Yuuri’s touch. Yuuri immediately retracted his hand away, horrified that he had just acted so carelessly without thinking.

“Sorry.” Yuuri apologized, keeping his eyes trained on the lush emerald grass below him.

“Don’t be.” Victor reassured, his eyes searching Yuuri’s face for _something._ Whatever it was he didn’t seem overly satisfied with the results of his search.

To escape Victor’s intense stare, Yuuri turned to opening his poodle decorated bento box that was filled with an assortment of tonkatsu, rice, and other lunch snacks he could fit in his box. Yuuri vaguely registered Victor shuffling closer to Yuuri so that he was practically embracing him. Yuuri closed his eyes and willed his breathing to stay even.

He was unsuccessful.

“Yuuri.” Victor called gently. When Yuuri didn’t make a move to respond, Victor tucked his finger under Yuuri’s chin and guided the boy to turn his head to face him. “ _Yuuri_ , I have a serious question to ask you,” Victor stated. Yuuri still did everything he could to avoid eye contact with Victor. If he made eye contact it would all be over for him and he would most definitely become a giant mess.

Yuuri lost all will when he felt Victor’s hand slid to cup the curve of Yuuri’s waist. Yuuri gasped and blushed harder than before, instinctively looking up to Victor. Yuuri was caught off guard by the alluring gaze and gentle blush gracing Victor’s own features.

“Y-yeah?” Yuuri finally stuttered out when he realized that he had been staring at Victor for far longer than any straight man should. Not that he was straight but . . . well you get the picture.

“Do you like me?” Victor asked, with his hand still gently caressing Yuuri’s chin.

“N-no!” Yuuri cried reflexively before shoving himself away to get any sort of distance between him and Victor. This was it. His worst nightmare. Victor finally figured out that Yuuri had the biggest, incredibly gay, crush on him and it was all coming to a head.

There’s no use hiding it now.

“I-I mean yeah, I guess.” Yuuri admitted quietly. “Why would you ask a question like that?”

Victor took Yuuri’s hand, causing the boy to look up and meet Victor’s soft tender gaze. If he wasn’t going through a huge crisis at the moment, Yuuri could have easily gotten himself lost in the depths of Victor’s eyes.

“I think you’re cute, Yuuri.” Victor started. Yuuri was already waiting for the other shoe to drop.

_You’re cute Yuuri but I am very much a fan of boobs._

_You’re cute Yuuri but you’re nowhere near my type._

_You’re cute Yuuri but . . . Nah._

What followed surprised Yuuri more than any scenario his mind could ever think of.

“I wanted to see if I had any hope of a chance.” Victor admitted, casting his eyes down timidly. Yuuri blinked in surprise as he tried to process what he had just heard.

_Wait. Does that mean . . . is he . . . what does_ _-_

Dial-up noises sounded in Yuuri’s subconscious and Victor had definitely broken his ability to think clearly. 404 Yuuri not found.

“Why me?” Yuuri landed on the most coherent thought he could voice. Victor laughed nervously and tucked his hair away from his eyes, a nervous tic that Yuuri had learned meant that Victor felt like he was treading in uncertain seas.

“I think you’re adorable and incredibly kind. And you’re the most _real_ person I’ve ever met in my entire life. I admire you Yuuri . . . more than just a friend.” Victor confessed. In an act of uncharacteristic bravery, Yuuri reached out and placed a soothing hand on top of Victor’s. Victor met Yuuri’s eyes with surprise , but continued on with whatever he had prepared to say. “You’re so hard to read. I’ve been trying to work up the nerve to talk to you for months. I thought you hated me for a while, but then we became friends and I _swore_ to myself that I was fine being just friends, that wanting something more would fade over time. But then it didn’t.” Victor continued on.

Yuuri just sat there and listened, taking in all that Victor was telling him, all the perfect impossibilities that led to this very moment.

_Victor Nikiforov likes Yuuri_. Victor Nikiforov.

“Please say something Yuuri.” Victor pleaded nervously.

“I-I thought you were being nice to me as a practical joke. I wanted to hate you because I thought that would make not loving you easier but . . . I could never bring myself resent you, Victor. I want something more too.” Yuuri admitted.

Victor beamed a wide brilliant smile and laughed in delight as he launched himself to curl his arms around Yuuri. Yuuri is knocked down to the grass from the force of Victor’s embrace, but he can’t bring himself to care, even if Victor’s weight was slowly crushing him.

“I can’t believe we wasted so much time.” Victor sighed. He brought his hands up to tenderly cup Yuuri’s cheeks.

“I’m sure we can make it up if we try.” Yuuri smiled warmly. Victor’s eyes started to brim with joyous tears, but he managed to hold them at bay by closing his eyes and leaning his forehead down to rest against Yuuri’s.

The new couple spent the rest of their lunch period nibbling from each other’s bento boxes while they cloudgazed from their spot in their nest of lush grass. Although Victor did move off of Yuuri for the sake of the boy’s respiratory system, he made sure that their hands never separated and his head rested against the soft heartbeat of Yuuri’s chest.

In that moment Yuuri is reminded of an Oscar Wilde quote he had long since forgotten about until now:

_‘Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead.’_

Watching Victor bask in the warmth of the spring sunlight, cuddling himself around Yuuri with a look of pure bliss radiating from his gentle smile, Yuuri can’t help but to think there’s some truth in that.

 


End file.
